The invention described herein may be manufactured, used and licensed by or for the Government for governmental purposes without the payment to us of any royalties thereon.
The purpose of penetrator structural support is to provide support for the long-rod penetrator within the air frame of a kinetic energy missile during the handling and flight of the missile to maintain the penetrator rigidly in place. Kinetic energy missile penetrator are usually of a diameter that is much smaller than the missile air frame and must be supported on the centerline of the missile air frame so as to maintain the proper mass and inertial properties of the missile air frame at all times until impact on the target. This ensures the proper flight characteristics of the kinetic energy missile. However, once the kinetic energy missile has impacted the target and the penetration process has begun, the structural support must give way. If the support is not removed from the penetrator at this point, it creates a lateral load on the penetrator and causes the penetrator either to bend or break and deflect a section of the penetrator off the shotline. This results in the degradation of the overall penetration capability of the long-rod kinetic energy penetrator against the target.
Collapsible Support Frame for Kinetic Energy Penetrator (hereinafter referred to as the xe2x80x9cCollapsible Support framexe2x80x9d or the xe2x80x9cFramexe2x80x9d) is a device that supports a long-rod kinetic energy penetrator that is inside a kinetic energy missile air frame during various handling and flight stages. Upon impact of the missile on the selected high-obliquity target, however, the Collapsible Support Frame gives way, thereby removing or greatly reducing the lateral loading inflicted upon the penetrator by the interaction of the missile body and the target. Such removal or reduction maximizes the effectiveness of the penetrator.
The Collapsible Support Frame comprises concentric outer ring and inner ring that are mounted inside the missile body and are designed to hold and support the penetrator. Upon impact on the target and the resulting creation of the extremely high impact shock loading conditions of the penetration process into the target, the outer ring captures a high impact shock loading pulse and transmits it to the inner ring. The inner ring, in response, fails in its supportive function, thus freeing the penetrator.